Imagine my surprise then when, in front of a room full of journalists on the Barcelona launch of Toyota’s new flagship sports coupé, the Chief Engineer of the GT86 project – Mr Tetsuya Tada – dropped the F Bomb. Nope, not a profanity or dirty utterance but simply one word; fun. And here’s why he’s on the money.

Sports coupé design has recently culminated in such cars as the Audi R8, Peugeot RCZ and Volkswagen Scirocco, all of which in my eyes are beautiful due to their many curves and lines, and also due to their subtle ferocity. With the GT86, first impressions are slightly jaded by the fairly non-jaw-dropping aesthetics. Sure the car has running LED lights and a rear wing but it’s all subtle. Our test vehicle had a dark grey metallic finish specification which was slightly more difficult to photograph but glistened under the Mediterranean sun, however even with 17-inch dark accent aluminium wheels, it failed to draw much of a reaction from Catalan pavement-passers.

But dig a little deeper and you’ll begin to notice what Toyota describe as ‘Aero Sandwiching’ in practice. Based on styling cues from the 1967 2000 GT and AE86, the GT86 has a ‘dented’ contour pagoda-style roof to reduce the drag coefficient and help the car become more slippery to slice through the air. The rear spoiler has canard fins (known as sakana or ‘fish’ in Japanese) to aid lateral stability under intense cornering forces. And the car sits hunkered down to the tarmac. In fact, the GT86 has the lowest driver hip-point of any Toyota production vehicle at 400mm, which makes for a nigh-on perfect drive position.

Fun. Clamber into the cockpit and it’s still a little tricky to see exactly what Tada has in mind. The instrument panels are flat-facing giving the illusion of a racing setup whilst the wheel is small and falls perfectly to hand. The black cloth seats are supremely comfortable and provides oodles of support whilst there are neat touches like the soft-lined centre console to prevent any knee bashing antics upon heavy driver manoeuvring. But the GT86 is devoid of artistic flair – some might see this as a good thing and features such as the brushed metal knobs are clean and functional, but if you’re spending £25,000 on a sports car you may be expecting a little more.

Once you’re strapped into the driver’s seat, it’s as easy as depressing the clutch and hitting the Start/Stop button to give the GT86 the gift of life. The thrum of the boxer engine is immediately audible and the rev counter straight ahead of the driver starts to dance.

Let’s get technical. To benefit from the lowest centre-of-gravity possible, Toyota engineers in association with Subaru (let’s not forget this was a ‘joint venture’) decided to forego a more predictable inline four and opted for the boxer four-cylinder. Like boxers sparring in the ring, the engine block is designed so each pair of pistons moved symmetrically and the result is a unit which is capable of cranking out 197bhp.

Whether this is enough power or not is immediately evident once we hit Barcelona’s fabled mountain roads. Step on the perfectly placed drilled aluminium hot pedal and feel the surge of acceleration build and build amidst the artificial sound of the exhaust being pumped into the cabin. It’ll take continued building to really get the most out of the D-4S (direct injection 4-stroke) engine as the redline sits at a lofty 7,400rpm where you’ll also find peak power. The only want for more shove rears its head once we get stuck behind a lorry finding it difficult to ascend the twisty roads; more torque certainly wouldn’t have gone amiss here.

But to focus solely on power and straight line performance would be doing the engineers in Japan a great disservice. For one of the real ways Mr Tada has managed to eek fun out of this GT86 is through its phenomenal handling performance. And I don’t use the word phenomenal often to describe a car. Let me explain.

The ’86 was developed with near ideal 53:47 front/rear weight distribution. Jibber jabber aside, this gives sufficient weight on the front axle to help nimble handling and cornering but just enough weight on the back end to get power down on the road. Lest you forget or have been hiding under a rock for the past year, this car is a pure rear wheel drive beast, aimed squarely at those wanting to experience performance car drives possibly for the first time. But the handling is ever so sweet.

So use the 197bhp to build speed then scrub off the mileage with simple but totally adequate ventilated discs. Turn in sharp, feather the throttle and even with all the nanny systems on, you can feel the car dancing in its comfort zone; absorbing imperfections in the road and begging the driver to give it more welly.

Grip is another issue which must be addressed; comically the coupé runs on Toyota Prius tyres. Yes those 215/45R17 ones. Not only are they slim but they are one hundred percent predictable and allow the driver to feel exactly what’s going on. Because without feeling, there’s no proper driving, and without driving the car properly, you won’t ever be able to have fun. It’s a simple equation but all the little bits add up like a Simon Cowell X-Factor checklist.

Out on the track, the Toyota GT86 continues to excel. Minus some acrobatic driving from your humble author, the GT86 held its nerve and managed to nip apexes and cling onto fast left-handers like you wouldn’t believe. Whilst certain hacks have boasted of their God-gifted abilities to make the car squeal and squirm, the GT86 au contraire handles itself very well and only with the 3 stage traction control completely off will enduce rear-sliding moments on track constantly. Keep VSC Sport mode off however, and whilst you find the electronics kicking in and preventing unnecessary slip, it’s an easy drive.

So now we arrive at the GT86′s final flourish where it’s necessary for me to drop the M Bomb. Yes, moolah. How much does this apparently awesome sports car cost? The answer. Only £24,995 for the 6 speed manual or £26,495 for the automatic, but you’ll probably want to listen to us carefully when we say buy the manual only. It’s not that the auto is rubbish, it’s more that the only reason you’ll be buying this car is to zip through the short-ratio gears, step on the brakes, heel-and-toe’ing your way down and turn in sharply into corners to test your nerve against the car’s grip. You’ll pay the eco price – our test vehicle after a vigorous day of driving and an emptied fuel tank managed only 25mpg – but you’ll be thoroughly rewarded.

And your reward? Well, it’s the rather large smile sitting squarely on your face, and the realisation of the pursuit and achievement of some ‘fenomenal‘ driving fun.

2012 Toyota GT86 Review Full Gallery

SEAT’s new Mii FR will be shown for the first time at an annual hot hatch event in Worthersee, Austria along with some one-offs from the Spanish manufacturer such as the new Ibiza Cupra concept and track versions of their popular hatchbacks.

Changes on the outside include classic hot hatch trinkets such as side skirts and a bigger boot spoiler but unique touches include discreet black highlights on the wheel arches and, my personal favourite, those 16-inch razor sharp alloys finished in grey with a red outline around the wheel.

The interior is much more bonkers than the standard car, which I like. The seats are two-tone black and red with huge FR Line logos in the centre. To further remind you what special SEAT you’re in, there’s even a giant FR Line logo stuck on the gloss red dashboard and there are more red bits on the steering wheel and gear stick.

Some people may be put off by this car as it doesn’t have a 1.6 engine like the old Lupo GTI or any of the TSI units used in Seat’s other cars. The Mii FR is all show and no go since it’s the same as the standard car underneath with a 1.0 petrol engine. However, that’s not always a bad thing, especially for youngsters like us. As we discovered with the Polo R Line, it means that you can have the hot-hatch looks we all love for the cost of a standard car. Genius.

So far the vehicle is just a concept but it has a likely chance of going into production. Please make it, SEAT. It makes the everyday Mii look incredibly boring!

The primary reason for our assembly in Berkshire, aside from a generous invitation from Volvo, was to take part in a course that usually runs for fleet drivers only. Dubbed “Excellence in Professional Driving” and run by Ultimate Car Control, the course offers total corporate compliance for businesses under UK Health and Safety Laws. If that sounds a bit too red-tape for your liking, then understand that this is something that will affect you if you’re ever self-employed, driving a company car, or driving your own vehicle on business time.

The aim of the day was to get us up to speed (pun definitely intended) on safety techniques that would help in ordinary, everyday driving circumstances and to navigate around the dangers that pop up. How you react to these dangers from behind the wheel can often be the difference between a life saved and a life lost, and after a morning briefing featuring some videos and a larger-than-life demonstration toy car, we were led out onto the circular track for Stage 1.

Stage 1 involved jumping in the back of a Volvo V60 with Robb Gravett, who also happens to double up as the Founder of Ultimate Car Control, for a couple of demonstration laps to get us familiar with the coned course layout. Robb has an amazing résumé which spans time in the British Touring Car Championship, numerous wins throughout his career and accolades such as “British Racing Driver of the Year”. As instructors go, certainly not too shabby.

Out of the instructor car and into my first drive, which happened to be the S60 saloon with a 240 horsepower T5 engine. This was my first ever Volvo drive way back when and I was keen to see what difference the extra 90 horsepower would have over the T3 I first piloted.

Planting the throttle produced near immediate response despite the turbocharged nature of the engine and I glided off towards the first sweeping right-hander. Power, power, power. The heavens had already started to spit down on us which made holding nerve that little bit harder, and on top of this, my first few laps were to be without instruction (so that the Ultimate Car Control dedicated crew could see how awful I was). Braking as late as I could into the corner, I meandered my way round a 180 degree hairpin and moved on to the next one. The fact that the car was a manual added another factor to the equation of what was my first proper bit of track action.

After 3 laps, and with only a few comments to attempt to cheer me up (“Not bad for a first-timer“, etc) we returned to the instruction cabin for a quick lesson in control. And this is where we were taught UCC’s basic cornering technique.

It’s quite simple really. You’re on a straight piece of tarmac approaching a bend. What rookie drivers tend to do is prod the brake and continue holding it down to scrub off a little speed. They then lift off the brake and turn in to the corner to realise they haven’t taken enough speed off and that there is no grip in the front wheels. After another spell on the brake pedal, they find themselves having understeered dangerously towards the kerb and vowing never to repeat.

Best practice is to follow three basic steps:

1. Make sure the car is stable on approach to the corner and travelling in a straight line as you apply the brake
2. Under braking, the front of the car will press down as the weight transfers to the front. It is imperative to brake in a straight line
3. Turn in to the corner at the same instant you release the brake and the nose of the car begins to rise, but with the weight still over the front wheels for optimal directional change

To really visualise the difference between turning into a corner with the front wheels fully weighted and without weight, we tried our hands on a slalom course laid out for us. The idea was to go through the slalom course at a steady 40mph and upon reaching the end to brake in a straight line and quickly release the pedal followed by rapid turn of the steering wheel to simulate dodging an animal or child which has jumped out onto the road. Those who didn’t turn in instantly after releasing the brake found themselves understeering, taking a wider line and producing some horrible tyre wail in the process.

It was at this moment I also managed to get my hands on a car I had been aching to get into. Yes, the C30 T5 Polestar. From just looking at this creature, you know it’s special. The Polestar Blue paintwork instantly smacks you in the face and whilst it’s actually a special vinyl wrap covering Ice White paintwork, it’s definitely an option I’d spec. The juiciest modification though comes from the Polestar engine upgrade which incidentally keeps your warranty intact. Happy days. Power rises by 20hp to a special 250hp arriving at 5,500rpm whilst torque gets a nice 50Nm boost to 370Nm.

Inside the cabin and the story is still the same as the rest of the C30 range (the D3 R-Design we tested here including), that is to say that modernisation is still needed and everything is starting to look a tad out-of-date (I’m looking at you instrument panel and navigation). But it’s comfortable, and the sporty leather seats did a great job of holding both myself and my instructor in our places around the slalom course without any awkward shoulder bumps.

Slot the notchy gearstick into first gear and the car pulls away without fuss. I didn’t witness the slight torque steer others have complained about and in my mind the chassis does a great job at planting power down, especially considering all of the 250hp is going straight to the front wheels. Plant your foot in second gear and the car takes off and you start hitting speeds you thought were previously unattainable in a fiery hatch. There is also very little intrusion from the external elements – this is a Volvo after all and build quality has never been an issue. Perhaps one small criticism would be the lack of noise from the five-cylinder unit; I want to hear all the burbles and gruffness of the note but instead I found that much of it was muffled.

Back to Ultimate Car Control and after completing 50 odd laps of the short slalom course each, we went back onto the original track to practice the car control techniques we had learnt. Let’s call this Stage 3.

It was also at this final point of the day that I got my hands on the monster. The V60 T6 Polestar has earned itself a bit of a reputation as being the most unbelievable, craziest, madddest estate on the market. You just wouldn’t expect 329 savage horses to spout from a Volvo estate, but the engineers in Sweden have worked their magic. The outcome is a car, which with AWD power output and a moderately fast-shifting automatic ‘box, eats up tarmac and begs to be driven hard.

With my newly learnt “brake straight, load up front end, turn in” technique, I managed to really get a feel for the course and discovered the Polestar’d car’s performance capabilities. A limited top speed of 155mph (although I didn’t get anywhere close to that) at a price of £35,780 without options might seem steep, but you get a lot of car for your money.

Before I knew it, my Ultimate Car Control experience had come to an end. The rain didn’t hold off but in all honesty, it made braking late and hard all the more exhilarating. These are the types of manoeuvres you simply never get a chance to practice everyday and seeing ABS working its socks off to scrub off speed as well as handling dynamics of the car around faster corners really makes you realise how far car technology has come in the past 20 years.

It’s also made me realise how much I want to drive the Volvo C30 Polestar again. And if it’s also whetted your appetite, make sure you take a look at Ultimate Car Control days near you and book yourself a session. Who knows, it might just save someone’s life.

This week, a well known celeb has been spotted pottering around town in one and this particular SLK ticks all the cool boxes. It has black alloys, obsidian black paint job, flared side skirts and LED daytime lights. The chances are it’s owned by a bloke such as Peter Andre, Zac Efron, Bruno Mars or it even could be part of Wayne Rooney’s car collection.

Ah, Miss Carey, it’s your SLK. Even though she is seen here in the passenger seat, it is definitely her car as the headrests have her trademark ‘M’ signatures neatly stitched on them. Apparently, it’s her friend that is in the driver’s seat taking her home from the shops. Of all the cars out there that celebrities get chauffeured in, Jaguar XJs, Maybachs and Rolls Royce Phantoms, I didn’t expect to see the SLK as one of them. The baby Merc convertible is a car you’re meant to drive yourself although, if I’m honest, I’m glad she’s not applying make-up behind the wheel. At the same time. That’s just asking for it.

Despite that, this is further proof if needed, that not all wealthy ladies demand cars in pink with fluffy dice hanging off the rear view mirror and diamonds encrusted on the headrests from their husbands. We like a girl with a good taste in cars here at Car Throttle and Mariah’s present from husband Nick Cannon makes her even more attractive to us.

Fortunately for us, the resulting video “Remedy” featuring Ruth Anne has just hit VEVO and as predicted, the C63 AMG Coupe has a starring role. The “story” is pretty simple – we follow Pro Green around East London as he parties hard with car in tow and girls and drinks on flow. Standard procedure.

The video is shot at night so it’s hard to make out exactly what kind of a beast the C63 AMG is. If you didn’t already know, this monster is powered by a naturally aspirated 6.2-litre V8 which is capable of churning out 451bhp. As if that weren’t enough for Pro, the car shoots to 62mph in 4.5 seconds.

With 19″ AMG alloys costing £1,550 the total set back would have been £57,000 for this ultra sporty 4 seater had the famous UK rapper been footing the bill. Fortunately we’re sure it was a rather large bit of product placement for Merc and surprisingly the car gets more than 3 seconds of airtime than we usually see.

If you’re a Pro Green fan or want to see a clean Merc C63 cruising around London at night, then watch the video below.

Telematics is easy to get your head around, as you’ll see from the video. And on the face of it, monitoring a driver and rating their insurance costs appropriately is a top idea. We know that uninsured drivers add about £30 to our annual renewal, and the misbehaving youth and elderly add about the same again. If we could properly document individual drivers, rather than stereotypes, the roads would get safer and we’d all have more cash to splash. That’s the obvious and undeniable up side.

I’m a skeptic though, and allow me to explore the nature of the down-sides that I’d want answering before some corporate-type screwed a spy-box into my pride-and-joy car.

Firstly, if the system monitors driving style, where does its line of disgression lie? I, like many young drivers who can’t afford to insure anything else, drive A Slow Car. My 59bhp Ka does 0-60 in about 13 seconds, and runs out of puff before three figures arrives (apparently). The benefit of such glacial straight-line performance is that when the conditions are right and the road clears out ahead of me, I can pedal it along at eight-tenths, knowing that while I’m having fun, I’m nowhere near the national limits, or the limits of my ability. However, what is the box of tricks going to think if it detects 95% use of throttle in the first three gears? Does it automatically calculate that during that time I never exceeded 55mph? Or does it send the boys in blue to me front door thanks to my ‘aggressive style’?

Secondly, sometimes the time of day we drive at, and what happens while we’re out there, is frankly unavoidable. Take this personal recent example. I was driving through central London at about 11pm on a Sunday evening. I’d rather have not been there at that time, but it just so happened that the commitment I’d been there for had ended at such a time, and I needed to go home. That’s why I was on the road, there, then. So I’m minding my own business, and while waiting at a red light at a roundabout, a Ford Fiesta blasts past me at easily double the 30mph limit, running the red light. Moments later, as the lights turned green, two police cars with lights ablaze race through the same junction, giving chase.

I heard the sirens getting nearer, and as the law raced into view, just as I moved onto the roundabout, I had to jink my car left to get right out of the way. My speed was barely into double figures. It was my right of way. And I acted according to the law, the Highway Code, and just as my driving instructor would have wanted me to. But I remain uneasy that a black box would simply note down that late at night in an urban area, I appeared to veer across a lane. Do admin then ring up to hear my side of the story? Or do I simply get a black mark on my record, and an extra zero on my MoneySupermarket.com renewal price? The policemen in the cars knew I was doing the right thing by getting the hell out of their way. A circuit board cannot perform that kind of intelligent calculation.

There are other issues too, which I have no faith in this country’s administrative powers to sort. We can’t get families through Heathrow without a two hour wait and strip search, and the real-life James Bonds of MI6 leave their top secret gear lying about on trains. If we’re that disorganised, who is going to collate all this car data? Who is responsible for working out who was driving at any given time, if the car was stolen, or, if the missus was in labour on the passenger seat, and if it was indeed neccessary to drive 32mph in a 30 zone at 4am?

I’d truly love to see insurance costs go down. It’d hand the public more disposable income to help the economy, and get more young people back interested in cars and driving, which breeds better drivers. But the principle seems to spell the end of enjoying a car enthusiastically on the roads, and provoke the onset of hesitancy and nervousness behind the wheel, terrified that taking action to avoid a jaywalking hedgehog is going to drain the summer holiday fund. We need calm behind the wheel, and having telematics watch our every move, at any time, anywhere is nothing but unsettling. Agreed?

Not so long ago, BMW created their first baby M car using a beefed up 1 Series coupe, E92 M3 wing mirrors, brakes and suspension, and a turbocharged straight six engine from the Z4 roadster. It was such a hit that our Ollie crowned it his car of the year in 2011. Sadly, it was only available in limited numbers and all of the UK editions are now sold out.

Fret not Bimmer fans, as the mini monster is back. It’s now called the M135i and it’s the second car to join M’s new line up, with the first being that crazy 5 series tri-turbo diesel estate, the M550d xDrive.

As it’s name will suggest to BMW eggheads, the M135i has a petrol engine. Specifically, it’s the same twin-turbo 3 litre straight six engine used in the 640i coupe with 316bhp and 332lb ft of torque sent to the rear wheels giving it a 0-62mph time of 5.1 seconds with the 6-speed manual gearbox and 4.9 seconds with the 8-speed ZF auto ‘box. As with most new hot Germans these days, it has a limited top speed of 155mph. That makes it less powerful than the 335bhp 1M Coupe but the M135i is lighter which means it has a power-to-weight ratio of 222bhp per tonne.

To make sure friends, enemies and neighbours know your 1 Series is far from ordinary, discreet tweaks on the outside include larger air intakes on a lower front bumper, a bigger spoiler, chrome tailpipes and reworked bumper at the back and more muscular sills down the sides. It even comes with bespoke 18-inch alloy wheels as standard.

Under the skin, the electro-magnetic steering system has been tuned to make it even sharper than it already is plus the brakes have been upgraded and they are painted blue, just like on the M5.

The M135i is more practical than it’s predecessor as it will be available in a 3-door hatchback form from launch in September, with a 5-door being available from November. Prices will start at £29,995 which actually makes it slightly cheaper than a VW Scirocco R and much cheaper than the limited edition Audi RS3. It is of course more expensive than rivals with not-so-fancy badges such as the forthcoming Vauxhall Astra VXR and the Renaultsport Megane 265. However, if you still can’t decide which hot hatch you want, it might be worth waiting to see what AMG do to the new Mercedes A Class as it is rumoured to have 350bhp delivered through 4-wheels.

“You’ve got an entire row of used cars out there that haven’t moved in far too long,” he thundered at the sales staff. Producing a sheaf of papers from his jacket pocket, a list featuring about a dozen vehicles that had been on the lot approaching 100 days appeared. “These are all in Recon as we speak, getting turned into cream puffs. That cash goes to the person who sells the most off this list.”

A bounty, then. Game on.

I enjoyed selling second-hand vehicles off the lot, if for nothing else than earning the favorable commission when compared to most equivalent new models. Knowing the commission percentage of gross profit for new and used was very similar, and there was often a lot more profit built into the asking price of something from the left-hand side of the parking lot, so I tended to sell as many used as possible. The smell of a new car is alluring; the smell of money even more so.

In fact, one month the Sales Manager inexplicably purchased from auction several used examples of a compact sedan when we already had a plethora of the exact same new sedans sitting unsold up in the back lot. Logically, the sales staff latched onto the used models like a newborn latches onto its mother. Equivalent car, more profit, more commission – what wasn’t to like? Predictably, a cease-and-desist order was issued by way of a bounty on the new models, causing all sales staff to gravitate towards those cars in search of extra cash.

This particular month, though, there would no easy way to earn the extravagantly offered bounty. From the list, I recall a wretched station wagon in a horrible shade of green. A plain, no frills hatchback with mismatched side mouldings – different textures from the factory. A sorry looking minivan whose interior appeared to have been previously inhabited by an angry lynx. Whatever the Sales Manager was smoking when he bought these cars to create this fiasco, he should have shared; it must have been good.

Recon, by the way, is a short term for reconditioning – the wash bay, in less glamorous terms. At the dealer, nearly everything looks nice and shiny. Those dozen cars on bounty? They all just got sprayed down by the pimply faced, minimum wage teenager in the wash bay before going up on the 3 foot high display overlooking the main road. Every one of those vehicles had languished on the lot for a reason. As a customer, it pays to look at and study used cars with the same care as if they are plutonium filled tax forms.

Three of the twelve was enough for me to earn the bounty. The wagon went to a local delivery company who mercifully painted it in their livery colours. The base model penalty box was pawned off to a new college student who was over the moon to simply have wheels. I vividly remember selling the mechanically sound but tattered minivan to a very nice family who apparently cared not one whit about the shredded interior. Perhaps they had a pet lynx of their own.

When shopping, go ahead and open the hood. Open the trunk. Open the doors. Look at everything in between and then take that used car to a third party mechanic for an objective opinion. I took pride in being as up front as humanly possible with those customers because referrals and repeat customers are the key to being successful in this business.

Treated incorrectly, buying a used car can end up as an automotive ex-girlfriend parallel: fantastic initial performance, quickly degrading into a neurotic evil bitch with transmission problems and $1000 worth of unexpected maintenance. In both cases, an ounce of prevention is indeed worth a pound of cure.

Click here for more Tales From Sales.

Find Matthew Guy on Twitter @matthewkguy (Matthew the Car Guy)

What can I say about the Mini John Cooper Works GP? Well for starters it’s the fastest Mini ever. That’s probably enough as it is. However not only does this new Mini looks like a bit of a beast, but on top of that, it’s hard to argue against Mini’s motorsport pedigree – when they’ve poured plenty of their know-how into this car, you know it’s going to be a great hot hatch. But if you’re still not sold, keep reading…

It seems these days that the ‘standard’ for judging a car’s performance is (alongside power, 0-62mph time and top speed) the time it can set lapping the Nurburgring Nordschleife. So with its rev-hungry turbo-charged heart shifting it along, motorsport-inspired aerodynamics, adjustable racing suspension, and non-existent rear seats for less weight, the Mini John Cooper Works GP claims a serious time posting a fastest lap of 8 minutes 23 seconds. That’s quick. Seriously quick.

Anyone driving an Audi RS4 or a Lotus Exige S is going to get beat, it’s as simple as that. And it absolutely thrashes its predecessor – the Mini Cooper S with the John Works GP pack – by a massive 19 seconds. Which in real terms is about six years.

This is also one of the best looking Minis I’ve ever seen. The whole idea for a hot hatch is that it stands out and the John Cooper Works GP definitely stands out. Anyone who says it doesn’t must be either blind or has forgotten to put their contacts in because this is stunning. With the letters ‘GP’ plastered all over it, aggressive bulging bonnet and a front nose lower than my dog sniffing the ground on his daily walk, you’re certainly going to get the admiring looks on the way to the track day. Which is where you’ll be going. Because let’s be honest, who wouldn’t want to take this on every track day they could? I know I definitely would. And I’d love every minute.

Want one? Yes you do. Don’t lie to yourself, you know you do. I do. Phew. With the Mini JCW GP due to be officially unveiled to the public at the Mini United festival from 11-13 May 2012 at Le Castellet in France, you’ll need to be quick on your feet as there are a very limited number to be produced – only 2,000 worldwide. Which means it’s going to be rare, very rare. And if ever there’s ‘claim for cool’ it’s when something is hard to come by.

So get your names down and your credit cards ready at your local Mini dealer because, as a man who enjoys the odd bet now and again, I’m willing to bet that these will be sold out quicker than they can get round the ‘Ring…

5. Shelby Daytona Coupe

Often referred to as one of the most beautiful cars ever to have taken to a racetrack, the Daytona Coupe wasn’t styled by Carroll Shelby,  though it was based upon his legendary AC Cobra platform. It may have been born of humble stock, but in its rather short racing life the Daytona battled the Ferrari 250 GT, and took endurance wins at Sebring, Le Mans, and in 1965, the 24 Hours of Daytona.

Just six were built before Shelby was reassigned to another famous Ford racing project. Thanks to the rarity and history of the cars, you’re going to need deep pockets to call one of the originals your own. In 2009, amid world financial turmoil, chassis number CSX2601 came up for auction in the US, but didn’t get close to its estimate of $10-15 million, going for a song at $7.25 million. Bargain.

Happily, you can bag yourself an excellent road-legal replica from Superperformance, a snip at $150,000.

4. Dodge Viper

Shelby’s name might go hand in hand with fast Fords, and I’ll be honest, I didn’t know he had a hand in the Dodge Viper until I researched it, but it turns out Carroll also dabbled with America’s latest and greatest supercar. Billed in 1991 as a modern-day AC Cobra (large, powerful engine in the front, manual gearbox, rear drive, and lightweight) the Viper went from motor show to showrooms in three years flat. Then it went about scaring buyers witless with its 8 litre, 400bhp V10, 180mph top speed, and all sampled with no roof, no side windows, and no electronic nannies to get you out of trouble.

Carroll paced the 1991 Indy 500 in the original Viper

Shelby was heavily involved in the design and development of the car, which has scarcely changed in two decades. A frivolous flash in the pan? ‘Course not. The third gen Viper has just been unveiled, complete with 8.4 litre V10 power and 640bhp. There ain’t no replacement for displacement…

3. AC Cobra

It’s been mentioned twice already, so let’s get right down to it and explore just why the Shelby Cobra is an instantly-recognisable classic. The story is well-known by now – Britain’s AC Ace sports car was hampered by a pre-WWII German engine design which was subsequently binned in favour of a 2.6 litre Ford Zephyr motor. This was still a sticking plaster solution until Carroll Shelby pitched the idea of dropping in a 4.2 litre small block Ford V8, since the Blue Oval was keen to compete with Chevrolet’s Corvette. An agreement was struck, the prototypes were completed on the double, and an icon was born. Continual evolution with 7 litre engines, wider bodies and more power persisted throughout the 1960s, with the volumptuous Cobra 427 being perhaps the most desirable. Original examples of the 164mph Ango-American road-rocket are expensive, but the car’s popularity has spawned a myriad of replicas, kits cars and tributes. Here’s to the ‘Special Relationship’ at its finest.

2. Ford GT40

Another Shelby, another Hollywood-spec story. Ford tries to buy Ferrari, Ferrari backs out, Ford swears revenge at the 24 Heures du Le Mans, Ford wins on third-time’s-a-charm-attempt in 1966. But the happy ending might never have occurred had Carroll Shelby not been switched from the Daytona programme to developing the under-performing GT40, which had retired from both Le Mans and the Nurburgring 1000km in 1964. Shelby was infamously irritated by the dirty state of the cars when they arrived for his attention, incensed that the machines were not being maintained properly.  Nevertheless, his efforts were instrumental in turning the inconsistent and unreliable four-wheeled payback effort into a 7.0 litre V8 monster which took a 1-2-3 finish at Le Mans in ’66. Another motoring moment which may never have existed has it not been for a Texan WWII veteran and engineer. At what point does a person qualify for sainthood again?

1. Shelby Mustang GT350/500

For me, ‘Shelby’ is a more natural prefix to ‘Mustang’ than ‘Ford’. The first truly sporting versions of Ford’s game-changing pony car emerged in 1965, arguably marking the start of the tuning game. The ’65 GT350 featured a 306bhp 4.7 litre V8 (up from 271bhp), toughened suspension, and bigger, more performance-sorted brakes. And of course, there’s those stripes. The recipe was a success, and by 1968 the Mustang name was dropped altogether, becoming Shelby Cobra GT350, or GT500, depending on how full-fat you wanted your ‘Stang. 1968 was also the year of the Cobra GT500-KR – the ‘King of the Road’, with power bumped up again to 335-360bhp. Check out this vintage road-test for some hilarious body roll and J-turn shots of the King.

Shelby Mustangs live on today, with the 2012 GT500 being the maddest yet. Its supercharged V8 gives the finger to Enzos and Murcielagos, boasting a ridiculous 662bhp, and is the first factory-spec non drag strip ‘Stang to have a top speed of over 200mph. Even President Obama gave it the thumbs up at the 2012 Detroit Motor Show, calling it ‘sick’!

So there you have it, 5 icons all born out of the blood, sweat, tears and toil of Carroll Shelby, who passed away on Friday, 11th May 2012, aged 89. A legend, for many an American hero, and a creating lasting legacy for years to come without a doubt. If you look up to the heavens today, I might wager those aren’t clouds up there, it’s a certain gentleman doing a burnout through the pearly gates.

If you’ve any comments on your favourite Shelbys, or tributes to the man, leave a thought in the comments.